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Posted on 15/02/07 4:41:42 PM |
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dejá_vu
Guest Reply |
Re: Contest 133: It's Valentine's Day...
 hi Philip, nice to meet you. I'm almost "new in town" too this is my second challenge. Sure you will enjoy this place there's a lot of nice ppl here |
Posted on 15/02/07 5:50:54 PM |
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Whaler
Visual Viking Posts: 330 Reply  |
Re: Contest 133: It's Valentine's Day...
Being in a bit of a rush last night I posted something I hadn't intended, so here's the second try  _________________ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
Posted on 15/02/07 6:54:44 PM |
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Deborah Morley
Makeover Magician Posts: 1319 Reply  |
Re: Contest 133: It's Valentine's Day...
Have been too busy to participate recently. In fact got this far and no real time to finish it, but will post anyway  |
Posted on 15/02/07 8:33:17 PM |
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Eggbox
Ovoid Opportunist Posts: 797 Reply  |
Re: Contest 133: It's Valentine's Day...
Really sorry not to be able to play last week and this but getting my 94 year old mother from an almost three month stay in hosptal and find her a residential home which she will be happy with is taking a lot of time and energy. I log on and look at the pictures but then fall asleep! I will come out and play soon. Ted |
Posted on 16/02/07 04:35:04 AM |
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vibeke
Kreative Kiwi Posts: 2157 Reply  |
Re: Contest 133: It's Valentine's Day...
Nice feel to this one, love the reflextions. |
Posted on 16/02/07 09:27:44 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 6935 Reply  |
Re: Contest 133: It's Valentine's Day...
Oh, you slushy bunch. Here you are, all hard-nosed pixel pushers, and with one whiff of Eau de Valentin you turn all romantic. Good to see True Love always flourishes. First to load up Cupid's dart was dave.cox, who's placed the couple at a wedding, by the look of it: a smart hat for her (and a recoloured jacket to go with it), pink champagne, and an embroidered heart motif on the tablecloth (following the contours really well, by the way). What I like most here is the placement inside the marquee: the parquet floor, the cheesy fake trellis walls, just as you'd expect. Great work, Dave, and certainly worth a title for you. So... Marquee Master has a useful double meaning here, I think! First entry from a new member - and Philip Saunders has given us romance au plein air. Very well judged postioning, Phlip, given that we've a clearly visible horizon to work to: and the lighting is beautifully done, really appearing to emanate from that hurricane lamp (not, perhaps, as romantic as a candle). My only suggestion here would be to boost the colour of the people a little: there's too much green in them, given the strength of the red light on the water. otherwise, this is great - welcome to the forum! A seaside setting from Steve Mac - at least, I assume it's the seaside rather than on board ship, judging by the railings. The violinist is a great touch, the lighting is excellent (especially the shadow of the railings). Most intriguing of all, though, is the couple in the foreground: will they? won't they? I think his chances would have been better if he'd bought her roses... I don't know the Hotel Danieli, but if it's anything like GKB shows it's certainly worth visiting. Shame your mean hasn't arrived, Gordon - shouldn't you at least have got some champagne in? Sylvia doesn't look too pleased with her glass of water! An entertaining image from mguyer, with a couple who are clearly not going to be sending out invitations anytime soon. Perhaps they're worried about the colossal hanging basket over their heads? And - crumbs! Watch the saturation on that tablecloth! Love the second entry. The waiter in Dirtdoctor23's entry is beautifully positioned, and really looks as if he's interacting with the characters - very nice job. And, certainly, the hula girl adds some local colour in the background. The trouble with having a visible horizon, though, is that it does rather draw attention to the horizon: your couple are placed a little low in the scene for comfort, I feel. Personally, I'd find those huge wooden sculptures a little off-putting while I was eating! A truly romantic setting from Toby, with expertly drawn candles - the sparkle on that glow works a treat. Good placing of the champagne, too, and I can just see a hint of it in the glasses. If you're having trouble making the image small without losing quality, it could be because you're saving it as a GIF: use the JPEG format instead, and you'll get much better results. A spaced-out entry from Michael Sinclair, with our couple inside what I have to say is a remarkably well executed bubble. I like the sentiment in the second entry as well - those waiters anxious for them to go home. But if the fireworks don't do it, there's no hope for these people. All the elements of a romantic scene from james, and it seems to be doing the trick for them. Great glass holding, especially her uplifted hand! The table's a little low for the horizon, once again - in fact, isn't it a little small overall? Those railings outside must be huge! Also, remember that objects fade with distance: your boat is far too well defined. And if you're going to add a boat of this size, make sure you get rid of the existing ones first! Not a lot of hope for the couple in jwhite's entry. She's already given up and gone home, and no surprise there. But - that tablecloth! Is it radioactive? And why is he so interested in the girl's knees? Absolutely splendid satire from j.harvatt, who's used all three of the heads - nice touch! The second entry is gut-wrenchingly appropriate, and the third really tickled me. A real laugh out loud, Jo. Which reminds me - do you want to become "jo harvatt"? Or "josephine"? I can even run to capital letters if you like! A fantastic setting from Tom - now that is romantic. Shame he couldn't have run to the expense of a waiter, though - did they have to lug the table and food up there themselves? Let's hope she doesn't need to powder her nose... A very neat animation from james, with excellent movement on the boat: and the use of the extra heads adds great interest to the scene. nice work! An interesting setting from vibeke - but are they on Mars? Why the strong orange glow? Great table additions in the rose, bottle and champagne in the glasses, and the two-tone tablecloth works a treat. Very classy! But are they really going to knock down a whole magnum of bubbly between the two of them? I like the second entry - but is the helicopter too small, or just positioned wrongly? An interesting fortune-telling setting from Ben Mills, with a crystal ball that certainly has some hidden power source. Great new clothes for her, and the head scarf is a great touch; very neat lighting, too, and the rippling on the wallpaper gives a convincing tent impression. Whaler's representation of speaking sweet nothings is a great image, which gets the point across very neatly. These are interesting hearts: did you define a brush to do them? Or are they all placed manually? What a good idea. And the second entry really livens the scene up. Another splendid animation from Char, with a woman so visibly impressed by that huge diamond that her eyes are popping out of her head. The rippling in the water really adds life to the scene, as well - and the new tablecloth is far better than the old one. Excellent! Incidentally, the reason your original image link didn't work is because you placed two brackets after the IMG tag - that's the only reason. A beautiful entry from Dejá_vu, with excellent lighting and some very fine table adornments. The lighting is excellent, and even the reflections work perfectly. This is really neat work, accomplished with great skill and flair. Great! Deborah Morley has given us a heart tablecloth, apparently heated hearts on the seat backs, and even a rather tasty set of hearts in the lava lamp. So why are they still so miserable? Could it be the fact that their glasses are empty? Several of you have had trouble recolouring the tablecloth this week. On the face of it, there's no texture in there to work with: 
...and that's why you've ended up with flat colour when you've darkened it up. The trick is to use the Shadow/highlight adjustment first, to reduce the highlights in the cloth; it's surprising how much detail can be rescued: 
Then, when you darken and add colour, it has something to work on:  |
Posted on 16/02/07 6:12:36 PM |
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vibeke
Kreative Kiwi Posts: 2157 Reply |
Re: Contest 133: It's Valentine's Day...
Thanks Steve, Guess I overdid the Sunset light a little. The helicopter is a long way off, didn't want to be bothered by the pilot. It is an enourmous area.  |
Posted on 16/02/07 7:08:11 PM |
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josephine harvatt
Gag Gadgeteer Posts: 101 Reply  |
Re: Contest 133: It's Valentine's Day...
Ooo! yes please - may I be Josephine - caps or not as you think proper? I tried to change it myself but wasn't sufficiently techno savvy - its all on a "need to know" basis with me! _________________ I'm not really bad - I just draw that way |
Posted on 16/02/07 7:33:34 PM |
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dejá_vu
Guest Reply |
Re: Contest 133: It's Valentine's Day...
Nice challenge. So romantic and tender... with such a variety of valentine's scenes really we can say that "love is in the air"
It's been a pleasure to share this challenge with you all. Meet you at the next g¡challenge 
Thanks a lot for your comments Steve. Really I was a little worried about the reflections, trying to make it as real as possible, as well as with the shadows. Your opinion brings me comfidence about my skills. Thanks a lot. |
Posted on 17/02/07 4:09:33 PM |
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dirtdoctor23
Guest Reply |
Re: Contest 133: It's Valentine's Day...
Thanks, Mr Caplin. I'll pay more attention to that horizon in the future. And congrats on your new title, Dave!! WTG Marquee Master!!! _________________ "I haven't failed.... I've found 10,000 ways that don't work!" Thomas Edison |
Posted on 18/02/07 00:00:23 AM |
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BigVern
Q Quipper Posts: 674 Reply  |
Re: Contest 133: It's Valentine's Day...
Some really nice ideas. Sorry I haven't been posting lately but been really overloaded. Congratulations Dave on the title; well deserved. |
Posted on 18/02/07 01:30:13 AM |
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dave.cox
Marquee Master Posts: 518 Reply  |
Re: Contest 133: It's Valentine's Day...
Thanks for the title, Steve. I shall where it with pride and edeavour to remain worthy as I continue to learn!  |
Posted on 18/02/07 12:59:16 PM |
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Steve Mac
Grunge Genie Posts: 539 Reply  |
Re: Contest 133: It's Valentine's Day...
I went back and forth on the rose issue. I guess they won't! He's young and has a lot to learn. Thanks for the comments Steve. _________________ Steve Mac |
Posted on 18/02/07 6:34:51 PM |
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james
Surreal Spoofer Posts: 1194 Reply  |
Re: Contest 133: It's Valentine's Day...
just a try http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s211/fungismith/sailboat.gif |
Posted on 18/02/07 8:11:32 PM |
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Whaler
Visual Viking Posts: 330 Reply |
Re: Contest 133: It's Valentine's Day...
Steve, I'm glad you liked the image. And yes, I defined a brush for the hearts as well as for the flowers in the second image. For the hearts I then played around with the settings for Shape Dynamics and Scattering. For the flowers I also added Color Dynamics. Since it's so easy to define a brush I wonder why I haven't done this before... I encourage all of you to do the same, define your own brushes. It's easy and it's fun.  _________________ Only in my brightest moments I understand myself |
Posted on 19/02/07 04:50:32 AM |
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Whaler
Visual Viking Posts: 330 Reply |
Re: Contest 133: It's Valentine's Day...
And here they are. Feel free to download and use them! [Attachment: Flower_and_Heart.abr (14.72kb)] _________________ Only in my brightest moments I understand myself |
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